Arm Reliquary of St George from the Guelph Treasure

The inner face of the arm reliquary contains a lattice of beaded metal bands which reveals the relic inside, wrapped in red silk. The attribute attached to the palm, a miniature lance, identifies the relic as the arm of Saint George. Albert II of Brunswick-Lüneburg, bishop of Halberstadt from 1324–1358, presented this reliquary to the treasury of St. Blaise. The figural engravings on the back of the arm establish the piece as a significant work of art. Two saints stand under an arcade: on the right, the fully armed military saint, on the left Saint Blaise in his episcopal vestments. George holds a shield bearing the crest of the dukes of Brunswick, while Blaise holds one bearing the family crest of Rixavon Werle (d. 1317), the donor’s mother.